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Westfield Matildas announce fixtures

FFA announce AFC Women's Asian Cup Champions next opponents

Football Federation Australia (FFA) today announced that the Westfield Matildas will play their first international matches, since winning the AFC Women-s Asian Cup 2010, later this month when they compete in the 2010 Peace Queen Cup in Korea Republic before heading to Germany to take on World number two ranked, Germany, in an international friendly.

FFA Head of Women-s Football Leeanne Grantham believes this will be an exciting test for the Westfield Matildas as they prepare for the FIFA Women-s World Cup in Germany 2011.

“It has been a few months since the girls have played following their magnificent efforts in China at the AFC Women-s Asian Cup earlier this year,” said Grantham.

“We now enter an important period in women-s football with competition in the 2010 Peace Queen Cup, a major international friendly in Germany, season three of the Westfield W-League and probably most importantly of all preparation for the FIFA Women-s World Cup 2011 in Germany.

Westfield Matildas Head Coach Tom Sermanni believes the upcoming internationals will provide a solid platform for his squad to continue developing in the lead up to the FIFA Women-s World Cup 2011.

“Winning the AFC Women-s Asian Cup was a bit of a shock as this team has only really been together for about 10 months but the dedication and work they-ve put in has been fantastic and it will be interesting to see how much more they can develop during these upcoming internationals,” said Sermanni.

“Quite a few of the girls have been playing in Europe and the US since the (AFC Women-s Asian) Cup and with the Westfield W-League set to start again in November this really is the start of what will be a fascinating 12 months.

“The FIFA Women-s World Cup is what we are focused on and these matches against Mexico, Taiwan and especially the one against Germany will be an excellent test of where we are and where we need to get to by June 27.”

The Westfield Matildas will face Mexico and Taiwan in Group B at the 2010 Peace Queen Cup with Korea Republic, England and New Zealand making up Group A. The winners from each group will advance to the Final in Suwon.

The Westfield Matildas then head to Germany where they will play a one-off friendly match against World number 2 ranked Germany in Wolfsburg on October 28